A Pirate's Life for Me: The Search for the Flying Dutchman
by yawnekxela
Summary: Grubbs only wants one thing in life-to become a pirate. But his current life situation won't allow him to live his dream. One night, a pirate ship makes port in his town and he decides to stowaway without a second thought. Will his adventures make him rethink his dream of becoming a pirate?
1. The Flying Dutchman

_The __Flying Dutchman__ is a legendary ghost ship. It can never make port, doomed to sail the oceans forever._

_Many claim to have seen the __Flying Dutchman__. They were immediately considered insane by their towns. No one could believe a person who claimed to have seen something only ever heard of in nautical folklore._

_According to these witnesses, the __Flying Dutchman__ has tears and rips in the sails. The crew is undead. Anyone who claims to have seen the ship says she glows an ominous green. Silently, she sails the seas as she passes on the horizon._

_It is believed that the sight of the phantom ship is a portent of doom._

_Then again, she is only a legend._


	2. Chapter One

3

_One_

The day was foggy and gray, as it was every day. A typical hell for Grubbs. It was almost six in the evening and since six in the morning, he had been out at sea fishing. Grubbs loved the sea, but never went out far enough to enjoy it. He always dreamed of being a pirate. Just to be free from rules and routine. Every day, he would go to the same spot, at the buoys that were never to be passed and sit for twelve hours, fishing. Some days were better than others. But even good days ended with Grubbs' bitch of a boss, Joanne. She was the only reason Grubbs had ever contemplated suicide; but his love for the sea kept him alive.

Grubbs made his way to the dock on his boat, holding up the two buckets of fish he caught today with his foot as the waves of the shallow waters rocked the boat. In the distance, he saw the seafood shop in which he worked. His dread in arriving to shore mounted as he saw Joanne step out of the door and wait for him with a scowl on her face. Her face seemed stuck like that because that was the only grimace Grubbs had ever seen on her.

Upon arriving to the dock, he tied up the boat and removed the two buckets of fish, setting them on the floor next to him. It wasn't long until he heard Joanne's familiarly aggy voice.

"Morrison! Hurry up with those damned fish," yelled Joanne from the shop, "you good for nothing bastard!"

As usual, Grubbs rolled his eyes and wished Joanne would die so he wouldn't have to put up with her anymore. With a sigh of desperation, he picked up the buckets full of fish and hauled it to the shop. "Where do you want them?" he asked Joanne as calmly as he possibly could without showing in his face how heavy the two buckets were.

"You know damn well where I want them!" Joanne spat. "Take them to the barrels in the back! And go around. I don't want this place smelling like fish."

'_It's a seafood shop, you old hag!'_ Grubbs thought. _'The place smells like fish every damn day!'_ But Grubbs bit his tongue, not wanting to get in trouble…again. Holding his breath, he hastily made his way into the alley, around the building, to the back. It reeked of fish and last night's rainstorm. Not a pleasant combination. It took all of Grubbs' willpower not to gag and drop the buckets of fish. Once he approached the barrels on either side of the back door, he quickly dumped the two buckets inside and made his way to the front.

As he exited the ally, the bell from the clock in the middle of the town tolled, marking it the hour of six in the evening—and the end of Grubbs' shift. A small smile appeared on his lips as he sighed in relief. He set the buckets down by the front entrance of the shop and started heading home.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Joanne called to him.

"Home!" Grubbs replied. "My shift's over."

"You good for nothing bastard!"

As per usual, Grubbs ignored the insults from his boss as he made his way home.

The walk home was long, but worth every mile if it meant getting away from Joanne. All he had to dread now was seeing her again tomorrow morning.

Every evening, Grubbs thought about his father and how he died when Grubbs was twelve years old. From what Grubbs can recall, his father was a pirate and died at sea, supposedly after he came into contact with the _Flying Dutchman_. It was then that Grubbs vouched to become a pirate and avenge his father. But that was only a rumor. No one believed that the _Flying Dutchman_ really existed, for it was only a ghost ship in nautical tales. But Grubbs believed it. He had not let it go. When out at sea every day, it took all his willpower to not go further and live his dream. Multiple times, he'd gone out a little further just feel free.

Whenever he thought of his father, he wondered how he died. Was it quick and painless? Or was he mercilessly tortured? These are questions Grubbs asked daily. Was it honorable or was it cowardly?

"How was your day, Mr. Morrison?" a voice asked, completely derailing Grubbs' train of thought. It was the elderly man who lived on the floor below Grubbs'. Grubbs didn't know his name, never bothering to ask. But every evening, the man sat outside the building, smoking his pipe and watching as people go by. He never seemed to look at Grubbs, but always looked ahead.

"Same as every other day, sir," Grubbs answered politely. The man didn't seem to realize that Grubbs didn't know his name-or he just didn't mind.

"That ol' bitch Joanne still alive?" A small smile appeared on his lips, still not making eye-contact with the younger man.

"Unfortunately," Grubbs replied with a small polite laugh.

"It'll happen soon. I can feel it."

"I look forward to it." As Grubbs was about to walk inside, the man spoke again.

"Grubbs..." his voice was ominous, causing Grubbs to pause.

"Y-yes...sir?" He was baffled. In almost ten years, the man always addressed him as 'Mr. Morrison.' Grubbs only ever mentioned once to the man that his name is Grubitsch. But he never mentioned that he goes by Grubbs. It was odd to hear the old man call him something other than 'Mr. Morrison', and with such a dark and unsettling tone.

"Dead men tell no tales..."

"I-I'm sorry?"

"Beware the undead man of the sea."

"Um, okay."

"He who captains the _Flying Dutchman_."

Grubbs' eyes widened at the mention of the ghost ship. "The _Flying Dutchman_?" Grubbs rushed. "What about it? What about its captain?" He was eager for an explanation. Why was the old man mentioning this out of the blue? Did he know something about Grubbs' father?

A few seconds passed, with the feel of an eternity to Grubbs. But the man looked at Grubbs with wide innocent eyes; first time ever making eye-contact with the young man. "What?" the old man asked.

"The _Flying Dutchman_," Grubbs said. "And its captain. You mentioned them, telling me to be cautious."

"I'm sorry, I do not recall."

Grubbs felt his heart sink as a wave of disappointment washed over him. "Right...okay. Never mind, then. Have a nice night." With that said, Grubbs started walking inside.

"You too, Mr. Morrison."

Grubbs paused for a second before he shook his head and continued on into his home.


	3. Chapter Two

_Two_

That night, Grubbs could not sleep. His mind raced rapidly, keeping him awake. Many questions ran through his mind. What does the old man know about the Flying Dutchman? What does he mean by 'beware its captain'? Does this have anything to do with his father? Was his father the one the old man said was alive? Grubbs feared these questions would never be answered.

It seemed he would never fall asleep, no matter how hard he tried. Without a second thought, he decided to take a walk to clear his mind.

He sat up on his bed and swung his legs over the edge, his feet immediately came in contact with the cold, hardwood floor and he stretched the limbs that lay motionless for almost two hours. He shuffled to the other side of the room, as he silently prayed that the creaky floor wouldn't disturb his neighbours below and grabbed his shirt from the floor and put it on lazily. He slipped on his shoes and made his way to the window.

He lived on the second floor of a four storey house. It wasn't built to be an apartment but each floor was occupied by a different family. They all shared the same staircase, which Grubbs avoided using.

Grubbs opened his window, he let the warm air hit him in the face as he stuck his head out. Looking down, he saw the top of the doorway covering to the house. It wasn't a far jump from the window and made for an easy way to leave without disturbing any neighbours.

Slowly, Grubbs climbed out of the window and jumped onto the covering. From there, he jumped to the ground and started his walk.

The night air was dry and warm-unusual for a town on the water. Heading in no general direction, he walked along the waistline-high wall that just barely separated land and sea. He looked over the wall at the boats docked in the harbour. The water was calm and quiet-peaceful. A feeling of simple serenity washed over Grubbs. He stopped, caught in a worry-free thoughtless feeling and leaned over the wall, staring out at the sea. He didn't want it to end. But abruptly, he was tapped on the shoulder.

"Excuse me..." a voice said, breaking the peace. Grubbs turned around to see a young woman looking at him. "Where is the nearest tavern?" From her features-and her accent- it was obvious that she was not from around here. She was oriental. Grubbs assumed she was Chinese. She wasn't wearing a dress, like other women. She was wearing men's clothes. Sailor clothes, to be less vague.

"Uh," Grubbs answered, surprised to see an Asian woman speak perfect English. It was obvious English was not her first language; but clear that she had been speaking it for a while and was most likely taught by an American. "It's down that road, about three blocks." He pointed to the nearest intersecting road.

"Thank you," she said with a small bow and in her language, called a large oriental man to follow her. They made their way down the route that Grubbs pointed out. It was a little strange to Grubbs to that a Chinese woman wearing men's clothes seeked a tavern. But he didn't think much beyond it after that.

Hoping to go back to his daydreaming, he looked back at the water. But this time, he noticed a large shadow out at the pier. As he squinted harder out at the sea, he realised it was a ship off in the distance. Curiosity rushed over Grubbs in an exciting wave. With no second thought, he ran to the docks of the port, wanting to get a closer look.

However, he only made it to where the docks began before slowing down, already tired out. As he came to a stop, he scanned the docks and let out a small sigh, realising the ship was at the outermost dock. He stood there, catching his breath before he continued down the pier to his target of curiosity. Seconds later, he heard someone yell. Looking back, he saw the same oriental girl from and large man from before. They were running, holding bottles of alcohol. Grubbs realised they were running towards him. Not wanting to get caught, he sprinted down the dock. His immediate thought was to hide on the ship. It was a long run.

Finally, Grubbs came up to the ship. Now he needed to find out how to get on it, without getting caught. Taking the actual entrance would be too dangerous. Looking back, he saw the two people still coming after him. Quickly, he climbed up the side of the ship and looked over. He didn't see anyone. He climbed over and made his way down the open hatch which led to the next deck below, hiding under the staircase until he thought of a new plan.

Sweat had already formed at his hairline. All that running and climbing had caught up to him quickly. His breath was undesirably audible. His throat felt dry and he was dehydrated. "Haven't ran like that in a while," he whispered to himself.

Not too much later, he heard the voices of the woman and the man. They were speaking to each other in their language, which Grubbs assumed was Chinese. He flinched and stepped back as they came down the stairs, still speaking their foreign language. Once their conversation ended, she switched to English.

"Put the rum and sake in the storage crates of the bottom deck," she said. "We need to leave this port before we're caught." The man nodded as she piled the bottles she held atop the ones he had. As she walked away, she started yelling commands in Chinese and ran back up the stairs. Not too long after, men started coming out of the rooms, yelling in the same language and scrambling above and below deck.

Not wanting to be found out, Grubbs crouched under the stairs, waiting for a chance to come out. As the men scrambled, Grubbs noticed they were all Asian and none of them wore military uniforms. But he didn't think much of it.

A few minutes passed before the deck was vacant and quiet, with the muffled sounds of the entire crew yelling coming from the deck above. This was Grubbs' chance to find a better spot to hide. Coming out from under the stairs, he headed towards the bow of the ship, coming across a ladder that led to the lowest deck. _'Perfect,'_ Grubbs thought, as he climbed down the ladder. It was pitch black but Grubbs still attempted to make his way to the back of the ship.

The walk wasn't as easy a Grubbs anticipated. About five feet into the darkness, all sight was completely lost and Grubbs tripped over what felt like a crate, causing him to hit the ground hard. Feeling the object, he came to the conclusion that it was indeed a crate. He sat up on his knees and decided it would be safer to crawl his way to the back. So he did. The fear of hitting his head on something caused him to go really slow. He made his way around more crates, noticing a path.

It felt like an eternity before Grubbs' head hit the wall of the back of the ship. He made a loud grunt and immediately regretted it, thinking someone could have heard it and hoping no one did. He slowly turned and leaned against the wall, letting out a big sigh. "What have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself, quietly. The fatigue started to overcome him. Having no other choice, he made himself comfortable and fell asleep.


	4. Chapter Three

_Three_

Little light shown through the small windows of the deck, along with the sound of gulls outside, it was enough to wake Grubbs up. He groaned as he tried to get his eyes adjusted to the light. Rubbing his eyes hard, he blinked away the sting of the morning. A slight feeling of nausea crept up his throat from his stomach. He looked around, taking in his surrounding and noticed a bucket. He kept it in mind in case he had to vomit. To his right, there was a ladder. Ahead of him, there were crates scattered around stacked in threes, fours, and fives. Squinting, he could see the ladder he used to climb down last night.

Last night.

The night before started to come back to him. The Chinese woman, the ship, the running. All of it slowly but surely came back. Then, with a gasp, he realised he was still on the ship. He was most likely in the middle of the ocean by now. He panicked a little, not knowing what to do. He didn't want to get caught, however, he had no idea how to get back.

Then he paused.

Maybe this was a good thing. He would be dealing with Joanne right now if he wasn't on this ship. That was an upside. He always dreamed of being a pirate. This was his chance.

Grubbs stood up, swaying back and leaning into the wall, feeling nauseous again. He thought about going topside, hopefully blend in with the crew. Not paying attention, he took his first step and tripped over a crate. "Dammit!" he yelled.

"Oi!" a voice responded. Someone sat up on the floor and Grubbs realised it was the Chinese woman from the night before. She started yelling at him in Chinese, only to stop abruptly as she realised he was not Asian. "Who are you?" she demanded, as she rose quickly and drew her sword. "You've got a lot of nerve stowing away on a pirate ship." Her tone was menacing and the way she put the blade of her sword meant she was serious.

Grubbs' eyes widened. "Pirate?" he repeated. Now it was all making sense. They stole the alcohol. That's why they didn't want to get _caught_. "It all makes sense now," he whispered.

"What makes sense?" She pushed the sword against his throat a little more.

If Grubbs could recall correctly, Grubbs had heard of a Chinese female pirate. "You're Hsi Kai, aren't you?" he asked, confident he was correct.

She looked at him angrily, sheathed her sword, and slapped him across the face. "Don't you ever confuse me with that whore again!" she yelled. Grubbs rubbed his face where he was slapped. It started to sting. This woman was terrifying. "That prostitute can go to hell. It would do the world some good."

"I'm sorry!" Grubbs said. "I just thought you were Chinese and-"

He was cut off by another slap to the face. "I'm Japanese." She slapped him once more. "I'm also drunk." Grubbs caught her hand as she swung for another slap.

"All right," Grubbs pleaded. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I mistook you for Hsi Kai. I'm sorry I thought you were Chinese. Just please...stop slapping me."

She smirked at his begging. "What's your name, Stowaway?"

"Grubitsch...Grubitsch Morrison." She looked at him oddly. "I know, it's an odd name. I usually go by Grubbs."

"You white men have odd names."

"And you Asian women hit _really_ hard." He touched his face. The stinging had not yet subsided.

"I'm heavy-handed...and drunk," she repeated.

"So early in the morning?"

"I had a..._rough_ night." She sat down nonchalantly on a crate.

"You know...it's odd to see a woman on a pirate ship," said Grubbs, slightly amused.

"Oh? Why is that?" she replied with a smirk.

"It's just not common. Were you taken captive?" He thought she could have adapted to the life.

"No."

"Are you a stowaway?" Maybe they just accepted her. Hopefully they'll do the same to him.

"Nope."

"Then are you close with the Captain?"

"More or less..."

Grubbs figured she had to be the Captain's girlfriend or maybe a concubine.

"Speaking of the Captain," he wondered, "where is he?"

Just as he asked, a crew member came down the ladder from the deck above. "Captain," he gasped, out of breath, and in Japanese informed the woman, "we've come across a Spanish ship. What do we do?"

Grubbs stared at the woman in disbelief. She responded with a menacing smirk. "_She_," emphasising the gender to Grubbs, "is right in front of you." She stood up and turned towards the other man. "Let them make the first strike," she told him in Japanese, leaving Grubbs out of the loop. "Then we ram them and take over."

"Subete o toru," he said. _Take what you can._

"Mattaku modoranai," she responded. _Give nothing back._

Grubbs felt so lost. He couldn't understand a word. He noticed the other man looking right at him. So did the Captain. She looked back at Grubbs.

"Take the stowaway to my cabin," she said in English. Grubbs admired the way she transitioned between languages. "But don't harm him."

Grubbs felt slightly scared by the second part. She made it seem like she was going to harm him herself. Which sounds worse than just being sent to the gallows. He had no idea what to expect of this woman. Nevertheless, he was interested in her story.

The three made their way to the ladder. The crew member stopped and let the Captain go up first. _'A pirate code? Or just plain chivalry?'_ It made Grubbs wonder, can pirates be chivalrous? They _are_ Japanese after all and the Japanese are known for their well-mannered nature. But they were still pirates.

As Grubbs climbed up the ladder, he took a look at the deck he was blind to the night before. "Follow me," the crew member said with a thick Japanese accent.

'_I wonder how many of them actually speak English,'_ Grubbs thought.

The Captain went in a separate direction, taking the first set of stairs to the main deck. Grubbs followed the crew member to the further set of the stairs, passing other members of the crew preparing themselves for a potential battle. They hurried up the stairs and the crew member went straight towards the double doors under the quarterdeck.

"Stay here..." he told Grubbs, directing him into the room. Grubbs felt as if the man used the extent of his English and obeyed.

As he stepped further into the room, he examined it. It was fairly large, going a foot or two beyond the quarter deck above. The extra foot was a small alcove of windows. In front of the window was a large wooden desk and an equally large chair to go with it. Against the wall next to the alcove was a large bronze-colored globe with a wooden stand and a flat platform at the bottom with an articulate design. Grubbs stared at it for a while. That wasn't _just_ a globe.

But Grubbs' thoughts were abruptly interrupted by a rude strike to the ship. The Spanish attacked. Soon after, Grubbs heard yelling and gunshots. He backed up into the desk, making sure to stay clear of the door as much as possible. He wasn't sure if he should hide behind the desk or if he was safe in his current spot. He was given his answer when the double doors were barraged by a Spanish soldier. '_He's not a pirate!'_ Grubbs thought. With no hesitation, Grubbs climbed over the desk and hid under it. But not before the Spanish soldier saw him.

"¡Haga no piensa que puede ocultar de mí, el pirata!" he yelled in Spanish. Grubbs couldn't understand it but it did cause him to feel for his life. He heard a sword being drawn. Immediately, Grubbs thought it was going to go through the desk. He was unarmed as well; a dead man. "Será rápido," the soldier said in Spanish. Again, Grubbs had no idea what was being said. He scurried out from under the desk backwards, hitting and then going around the chair. Finally, he hit the wall, looking up at the Spanish soldier who gaped back at him. "Usted no es japonés," he breathed. "Usted-"

He was cut off by a blade through his throat. The whites of his eyes shown as he fell to the ground. Dead. The Captain stood in the spot of the now deceased Spanish soldier. She looked at Grubbs with a cold glare. But it wasn't anger towards him. In fact, it wasn't anger at all. It was more so she dropped all emotions for battle. She swiftly turned around as she pulled out a gun from her side and shot an approaching Spanish soldier.

"There's a trap door over there," she said, pointing to the furthest right corner. Hide in the storage deck until its all over." Her voice was more demanding than before; but Grubbs knew that she wanted him safe. So he nodded and made his way to the trap door. He saw a brass handle in the floor and pulled the trap door up. Looking down, he saw that it lead all the way to the lowest deck; the deck that he hid in last night. "Go!" the Captain's voice yelled. Grubbs didn't think she was still there. Now in slight panic, Grubbs quickly made his way down the ladder and pulled the door closed above him.

Once on the lower deck, he looked around to figure out where he was. It was the exact same spot he woke up in. But it took a few seconds for Grubbs to gain familiarity of the deck. Just a few feet away from him, there were three stacks of crates stacked in fours and fives. He crouched down, hiding behind the stacks. Thinking it was safe, he untensed and let out a sigh of relief. But it was too soon.

The sound of approaching voices caused Grubbs to tense up again. Two people were coming down the ladder on the other side of the deck. Two Spanish men, conversing in their native tongue as they made their way down. Feeling useless, Grubbs backed up farther into the wall. He had no idea what to do. Go back up the ladder to the Captain's quarters? Stay and fight the two Spanish men? Both could result in his death.

He was starting to rethink his dream of becoming a pirate as the two Spanish men got closer to the back where Grubbs hid. Quickly, he looked around for a weapon and spotted a small sharp piece of wood hanging off a crate. Not enough to kill but maybe it would scare them. It was worth a try.

Picking up the piece of wood, Grubbs listened to the two men. They were close. _Really_ close. He breathed in deeply, his heart raced as his adrenaline started pumping. Finally, he shot up and...

"Stop!' he yelled, shooting up to his feet and pointing the stake-like object at the two men. They stared at him with shocked faces for a few moments before bursting out into laughter. Grubbs felt slightly embarrassed and thought maybe it would have been a better idea to just go back up the ladder to the Captain's quarters.

"He has a stick!" one barely let out while laughing entirely too hard.

"Ooohhh! I'm so scared!" the second one laughed in Spanish. Grubbs couldn't understand them but sarcasm was universal. They were making fun of him and he knew it. "Wait..." the laughing died down as they looked at Grubbs. In Spanish, he said to the other, "He's not Asian."

"You're right," the other replied in Spanish. They continued to converse in their native language, making Grubbs feel awkward as he just stood there in wait.

As they spoke, Grubbs examined them. They weren't wearing uniforms. Also, they were twins! Almost identical. The first one had long, black, shoulder-length hair, pulled back into a ponytail. The other one had short, tightly cut black hair.

"You two..." Grubbs started, interrupting their conversation. "Are you two...pirates?"

A few moments of silence passed before one of the two men answered. "I'm Emilio," the long haired one answered. "This is my brother, Ermel." His accent was thick but he was very understandable.

"I-I'm Grubbs..."

When he said his name, Ermel stifled a laugh. "Grubbs..." His brother smiled, more successful at hiding his amusement.

This was to be expected. "Are you pirates?"

"We're conmen," Emilio answered proudly as if it was the greatest thing in the world. "We were held hostage on the Spanish naval ship."

"The battle was the perfect cover to escape and stow away here," Ermel continued.

"What about you?" The twins stared Grubbs down.

"Uh, well..." Grubbs said. "I'm a stowaway." He was just a fisherman with no real reason to be on the ship.

"Your accent...you're from England!" Ermel exclaimed. Grubbs nodded and the twins high fived.

'_I see this is the deck everyone goes to when stowing away,'_ Grubbs thought.

Just then, the twins were grabbed from behind by members of the crew and forced to their knees. They were being yelled at in Japanese by them. Neither the twins nor Grubbs understood what was being said.

"¿Que?" Ermel responded to the rapid Japanese.

"Nan desu ka?" the crew member holding him asked, not understanding the Spanish.

"What?" Grubbs asked quietly. But not quietly enough as everyone looked him. Another crew member grabbed Grubbs and brought him to his knees.

"Bring them to the main deck," a familiar voice spoke in Japanese. Grubbs realised it was the Asian man that was with the Captain the night before. The other crew members tied the twins and Grubbs behind their backs and brought them to their feets. They started making their way to the ladder on the other side of the deck. Grubbs wondered what was going to become of him.


	5. Chapter Four

Four

The entire crew was on the main deck, cleaning up the dead bodies of the fallen soldiers and occasional comrades. Judging by the sight of more dead Spanish bodies than Japanese, Grubbs came to the conclusion that the pirates won. The Spanish ship was destroyed and way behind the pirates. Looking up at the steering wheel on the quarterdeck of the pirate ship, Grubbs saw the captain. She looked around at the mess with a content-probably satisfied that she won. Her gaze caught Grubbs', causing him to look away awkwardly. After a few seconds passed, Grubbs looked back at her. She was still staring at him with a smirk, knowing how awkward it was for him.

They stopped in front of the captain's cabin. The captain jumped down from the quarterdeck and looked at Grubbs and the twins who were pushed down to their knees in front of her.

"Senchou..." the man from last night said to the Captain. "These three are stowaways," he continued in Japanese. "They were found in the storage deck. Shall we dispose of them?"

"Iie," the Captain answered. She kneeled in front of the twins. "¿Como se llamas?" she asked them.

_'She speaks Spanish?!'_ Grubbs mentally yelled.

"Ermel," answered Ermel.

"Y Emilio," Emilio added.

The Captain paused, staring at the twins. "Estrada...?"

"Sí," both twins answered with a nod.

"Aaah~...Los gemelos Estrada." She looked over at Grubbs and stood up, telling the large man from last night to let him go.

"Senchou..."

"Choudo sore o okanau!" she ordered, making her authority clear. With a sigh of reluctance, the man untied Grubbs, setting him free. "I need to speak with you," she told Grubbs.

_'She's really just saving my arse,'_ Grubbs thought.

"What about us?" Ermel asked.

"Yeah, do you need to speak with us, too?" Emilio added. "We can tell you a lot." His tone was flirtatious and he winked at her.

The Captain responded with a look of disgust. "Put them in the cell," she told the large man from last night in Japanese. "I'll deal with them later."

With that said, the man pulled the twins up to their feet and walked away with them.

"You speak Spanish?" Grubbs asked the Captain with sincere curiosity.

"I speak many languages, Stowaway. Come with me." She made her way to her cabin, Grubbs followed closely behind. "I need to know a few things."

"Uh, sure, anything." She saved him. Giving her some information was the least he could do. "What is it that you need to know?"

The Captain went around the desk and sat down in the chair behind it. "Sit," she said, motioning to a chair in front of the desk. Complying with the order, Grubbs took a seat. A few seconds went by as the Captain stared at him, her fingers intertwined in front of her mouth.

"Um..." Grubbs started.

"Why are you here?" she asked abruptly, as she dropped her hands onto the desk.

Grubbs was taken aback by the violent way she asked the question. "I-I don't know," he answered. "I was curious, and-"

"Curious? About what?" She leaned forward, supporting herself with her left arm.

"I-I don't know. I saw the ship and in a spur of the moment, I decided to take a look." He paused for a moment. "Little did I know it was a _pirate_ ship."

"That sounds irrational and unsafe," she said. "And you stutter a lot."

Now that he thought about it, it was an irrational and unsafe decision to climb aboard a pirate ship. He started to feel a little stupid. "I suppose you're right."

"You're just lucky it was _my_ ship," she smirked. "Not many _pirates_ would let a stowaway survive."

"Th-thank you...Captain..." He couldn't think of anything else to reply with. The captain stood up and made her way to the golden globe at the side of the desk. Her hands gripped the northern hemisphere on either side and she lifted it up. She picked up a white ceramic flask. "Sake?" she asked Grubbs, making direct eye contact with him and causing him to flinch at her gaze.

"Pardon?" he asked. He had no idea what she said. She lifted the flask to show him. "Alcohol?"

She nodded. "Sake."

"I've never had it before."

"I can tell. Care to try?"

Grubbs hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to be rude and deny an offering. "Okay," he finally said.

She took out two small cups that matched the flask and poured the sake into each. Her movements were graceful as she replaced the flask in the glob, picked up the two cups, walked back her seat, placed one of the cups in front of Grubbs then took her seat. Though graceful, she was nonchalant. She had a certain class to her essence yet she drank the alcohol as if it was water. She had no hesitation in the consumption of the sake.

Feeling pressured, Grubbs took his cup in his hand and stared at the clear drink. He brought it close to his mouth and took a hesitant sip. It burned as it went down his throat, causing him to growl raspily.

"Careful," she smirked. "It's strong."

"No kidding." He let out another throat-clearing growl.

"You don't have to finish it if you can't handle it."

Grubbs took that to the pride and gave her a challenging look. He quickly gulped down the rest of the sake in the cup and let out one more loud throat-clearing growl to ease the alcohol burn. "I can handle it," he said, barely able to speak.

The captain looked at him with an appalled look. Immediately, Grubbs felt a little embarrassed and started to regret his decision. Her shocked look slowly changed into a smirk. "You sure can," she mused. She let out a sigh. "Men and their pride." She stood up, grabbed the flask, from the globe and took her seat again. "If you happen to want more," she offered as she placed the flask in between them on the desk.

"So, Captain," Grubbs said, "how does a young woman such as yourself become the captain of a ship like this?"

"She doesn't."

"Pardon?"

"All this...the ship...the crew...the sake...none of it is rightfully mine."

Grubbs was genuinely confused at this point. She commandeered the ship and crew as if it was hers. She acted as if it was all hers. "If none of it is yours...whose is it?"

"My fiancé's."

"You're betrothed?" he spat out, shocked at the new information. "I would have never guessed." He looked at her hand and actually saw the ring. How had he not noticed it before? "So your fiancé is the true owner of this ship?"

She answered with a nod.

"Where is he?"

There was a long pause as she just stared at him. Finally, she answered. "The night he asked me to marry him...we were ambushed by Syrian pirates...and they took him..." She took another pause to pour more sake into her cup and drink it. "We took one of their crew members...interrogated him... He told us that their captain made a bargain with Davy Jones... A bargain that required my fiancé..."

"If you don't mind my asking...what was the bargain?"

"Davy Jones had someone dear to him... He traded my fiancé..."

"A life for a life."

"Fair yet unfair..." She poured another cup. "Since then we've been looking for the _Flying Dutchman_...in hopes of getting my fiancé back."

"How long has it been?"

"Almost seventy-two days..."

"Do you believe...he's still alive?" Grubbs hesitated with the question at first.

"Of course." She looked him in the eye with a look that said 'how dare you ask that'. Her tone was firm. Even if she was not the true captain, she sure acted like one.

_'Whoa...sorry I asked,'_ he thought. "Have you gotten close?"

"Actually..." she gave him a sly smirk. "We have...fairly." Suddenly, there was a knock on the double doors of the room.

"Senchou!" a voice yelled.

"Nan desu ka?" the captain replied in a normal voice, just loud enough for the other person to hear, but not leave a heavy awkward feeling in the air for Grubbs. The man proceeded to yell frantically in Japanese. "Heya ni hairu!" she interrupted him. Quickly, the man entered the room. "Nani?" she asked him. "Osoi." The man repeated everything in a normal, slower tone to the captain. When he was finished, she gave him a look of annoyance and stood up.

_'I'm going to be left alone again,'_ Grubbs sighed in his mind.

"If you'll excuse me," she said to Grubbs. "There's something I need to take care of..." She finished the rest of the sake in her cup. "Those damn Estrada are known for causing trouble." With that said, she and the frantic crew member left the room and once again, Grubbs was left alone.

"I should probably learn Japanese," Grubbs groaned to himself. It occurred to Grubbs that the language barrier was severe when it came to Grubbs' English and the limited English of the crew. Then there were the Spanish-speaking twins. If Grubbs was to stay on this ship and travel to other language-speaking countries, he needed to learn other languages. A wave of determination washed over him as he stood up. "Time to go find someone who can teach me Japanese!" He strode to the doors and ripped them open. As he opened them, there were crew members walking around and working. The sound of Japanese being spoken, mumbled and yelled filled the air. It terrified Grubbs. Immediately, he retreated back into the captain's quarters. "Maybe I'll just wait for her to come back..." He closed the door and went back to his seat.

Grubbs had no idea what to do. The captain left him and he didn't understand most of the people on the ship. He felt lost and confused. It was finally sinking in that he was all alone in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people that could possibly kill him at any given time with no hesitation. He had to learn the ways of this crew so he could stay alive.

Suddenly, Grubbs became curious about what the captain had to do concerning the Estrada twins. He turned to the far right corner of the room where the trapdoor was and thought about going down to the bottom deck to see them. He took three steps forwards before he was shocked into a halt by an ungodly noise followed by a sharp pain in his stomach. The pain felt like little pins and needles poking at the inside of his stomach and he felt an empty sensation in his core. He was _starving_.

Grubbs was at a loss of what to do. All possibilities he could think of ended up with him being killed or in big trouble. He decided to go through with the plan of going through the trapdoor. He continued on and bent down to grab the handle. As he pulled the door up, he looked down the narrow passage.

"¡Ella nos va a matar!" the semi-familiar voice of Emilio yelled from the lower deck. It echoed through the small passage Grubbs was about to enter.

"No voy a matarte," the very familiar voice of the captain responded. "Mientras haces lo que te dicen." The sound of a sword being drawn could be heard.

Grubbs reconsidered his decision to go down there. His stomach growled once more and he put his hand to it as he silently prayed that the noise didn't echo through the passage. When he heard no response of any kind, he sighed in relief and began to make his way down the ladder to the lowest deck.

"¡Locura!" Ermel yelled, followed by a dark laugh from the captain.

Once on the deck, Grubbs looked around and scanned for the cell the twins were kept in and the captain. They were on the right side of the deck. The cell took up a good portion of the wall of the ship. It was large, proportionate to the side of the ship. The captain sat atop crates and conversed with the twins in Spanish. Grubbs was not sure what to do. He didn't want to be rude and interrupt; but she was the only person who could help him. "Ahem," he cleared his throat and stepped towards them. The three foreigners turned to him.

"What are you doing here?" the captain snapped as if the three were in an important meeting. For all Grubbs knew, they could have been having an important meeting.

"I'm hungry," Grubbs answered. It didn't occur to him how childish that may have sounded until he heard the twins snickering in their cell.

"Mr. Morrison, how old are you?"

"T-twenty-four..." answered Grubbs, unsure if the question was rhetorical or not.

"So don't act like a child. You're a grown man. If you're hungry, find the ship's cook. Don't come to me. I am not your mother."

"We're hungry, too!" Ermel said.

"Yeah!" his brother chimed in. "But we can't go and find the ship's cook because we're locked up!"

"Shut up!" the captain demanded. The twins stepped away from the bars of the brig. There was a long moment of silence. The tension in the general area was thick. It felt like an eternity before she spoke again. "Reiji!" she called. The large man from last night came down from the deck above.

"Senchou..." he said as he made his way towards the cell. The captain spoke to him in Japanese, as Grubbs and the twins stood there and stared at them, lost in translation. When they were finished, Reiji went to the cell and began to unlock it.

"Are you letting us go?" Emilio asked the captain with hope.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" the captain responded. "You think I'm going to let you two go? The Estrada twins. The two most wanted criminals in Spain."

"Whoa, whoa! 'Criminals' is such a strong word."

"Do you know the reward that's over your heads? You think I'm going to let you go?

"How much of a reward?" Ermel asked skeptically.

"2,500 pesetas each."

"Coño...I wouldn't let us go." Emilio shot a glare towards his brother, causing him to flinch.

The captain spoke to Reiji in Japanese once more and he exited the deck with the twins, leaving the captain and Grubbs alone. The silence was long and the tension in the general area did not thin out. Grubbs was about to say something but was cut off by the demonic sound of his stomach growling. The noise earned him a look from the captain; she heard it loud and clear.

"Let's go," she said as she lead him to the ladder.

Later that night, Grubbs laid in the bed of the quarters given to him by the captain. The room was small and situated under the captain's quarters. There was one window and no door in the doorway. He was uncomfortable by the fact that there was no door and anyone could look into the room. The bed itself was uncomfortable, too; but no one could expect much from a bed on a pirate ship. He hadn't seen the Estrada twins since the afternoon and wondered what the captain had done to them.

Grubbs was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. The day had been eventful and it drained his energy. Rolling over onto his side, he stared out the window at the third quarter moon. He'd never seen the moon so close and bright before. There was something about being on the sea that made the sky look gorgeous.

Staring at the moon, Grubbs thought about a lot. How there was no turning back. He was stuck on this ship with pirates. Not only were they pirates, most of them didn't even speak English. He wasn't sure how he was going to survive.

The last of his thoughts exited his mind as he turned to face the wall that the bed was against and drifted off into sleep.


End file.
